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University of Houston Athletics
Houston Set for Saturday Meeting with Memphis
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| HOUSTON (6-12, 1-6 AMERICAN) vs. MEMPHIS (9-9, 3-4 AMERICAN) | |
|---|---|
| Home Game Tickets | BUY Tickets • Tickets Info |
| Questions? | Fan Guide |
| Date/Time | Saturday • 2 pm CT |
| Location | Elma Roane Fieldhouse • Memphis, Tenn. |
| Live Video | American Digital Network |
| Live Audio | UHCougars.com Jeremy Branham, PxP |
| Live Stats | |
| Series History | Memphis leads, 14-13 |
| Game Notes | • Houston Notes • Memphis Notes • The American Notes |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team continues their American Athletic Conference campaign on Saturday afternoon, when they face the University of Memphis. Game time at Elma Roane Fieldhouse in Memphis is scheduled for 2 pm.
Fans who are unable to make the game in person can watch it live on the American Digital Network. Also, a free live audio broadcast is available through Houston's Stretch Internet Portal, with Jeremy Branham on the play-by-play call. Live Twitter updates can be accessed throughout the game by following the official UH women's basketball account, @UHCougarWBB.
Houston enters the contest at 6-12 (1-6 American) after suffering a 71-55 loss to USF on Jan. 21 at Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars were led by Alecia Smith, who came off the bench for the first time this year and scored a season-best 22 points.
Memphis is right at .500, with a 9-9 record (3-4 American). The Tigers last played on Jan. 18, a 60-39 setback at East Carolina. Ariel Hearn topped the scoring column for the Tigers, with 16 points in the loss.
The all-time series between Memphis and Houston is incredibly close, with the Tigers holding a 14-13 edge in 27 previous meetings. The Cougars took the most recent faceoff, 73-67, in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship on March 7, 2014.
 | LAST TIME OUT |
USF 71, Houston 55 | Final Stats | Postgame Press Conference
Houston staged multiple comebacks on Jan. 21 against USF, though it was not enough as they fell to the Bulls, 71-55.
Smith turned in her best performance of the season in her first game coming off the bench. The junior scored 22 points, including hitting 6-of-7 3-point field goals.
Houston rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to trail by just seven points, 30-23, at halftime. They also continued to fight in the second half, closing the game on an 11-2 run.
Marche' Amerson and Jessieka Palmer each scored 10 points in the game, with Amerson tying a career high with four steals. Bianca Winslow matched her career high with five assists.
Buoyed by Smith's big night, the Cougars matched their best effort of the season with eight made 3-pointers.
| DEVELOPMENT FACILITY WEBCAM GOES LIVE |
Watch
The Cougars will have a new Basketball Development Facility to call home in 2015-16, and fans can now watch the construction of the facility live, 24 hours a day. To view progress of the construction, fans can click on uh.edu/infotech/services/webcam/.
Designed by DLR Group and Page, the new Development Center is located adjacent to Hofheinz Pavilion at the corner of Cullen Boulevard and Holman Street on the UH campus. Construction on the $25 million facility is expected to be completed by August 2015
The 53,000 square-foot facility will provide the environment that the Houston Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes need to excel throughout the season in all areas. The first level will house a dedicated practice court for each team as well as sports performance and sports medicine areas, which will be used by both programs.
The second level will feature the teams' areas, which include locker rooms and academic/film theaters. The team rooms contain spacious, modern lockers, multiple video screens for television and comfortable furniture. The third level will hold office space for both Men's and Women's Basketball coaching and support staffs.
| COUGAR VETERANS CLIMB PROGRAM RECORD BOOKS |
Houston's junior class has three members who are making their marks on the Cougar women's basketball record books.
Smith knocked down six 3-pointers on Jan. 21 against USF and now has 98 made trifectas for her career. With two more, she'll become the seventh Cougar to hit 100 3's in her career.
Tyler Gilbert has been a shot-blocking machine this season, with 39 in 18 games. That's the ninth-best single-season total in UH history. She now has 58 career blocks, 15 behind Rosheda Hopson for ninth all-time.
Amerson has started 79 career games and is seven short of Houston's career top-10. She is also just six treys outside the career 3-pointer list, with 70 total.
| GILBERT NAMED TO AMERICAN HONOR ROLL |
Gilbert was named to the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 19 after her tremendous effort against Tulsa two days earlier.
The Missouri City product paced the Cougars with 16 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in the Tulsa game on Jan. 17. The double-double was the second of the season for the Missouri City native.
The junior has been a force in American games, where she ranks 24th with 10.3 points per game and ninth with 8.1 rebounds per game. Gilbert leads UH in both categories.
On the interior, Gilbert has been one of the American's top defensive players. She has 39 blocked shots and averages 2.2 per game, fifth in the league.
Gilbert has rejected at least one shot in 17 of Houston's 18 games, including six against Cincinnati on Jan. 7.
| COUGARS IN THE AMERICAN RANKINGS |
Four Cougars continue to rank among the top statistical performers in The American.
Palmer paces the Cougars in scoring and ranks 27th in The American with 10.0 points per game.
Gilbert ranks fifth in the league with 2.2 blocks per game, and her 6.1 rebounds are good for 18th in the league. The junior is the top-ranked Cougar in the NCAA Division I rankings, checking in 48th in the nation in blocks per game.
Smith led the Cougars in assists in 11 straight games from Nov. 29 - Jan. 7. The junior ranks fifth in The American, at 3.9 assists per game, and she is also listed eighth with a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio.
After catching fire from 3-point range against USF on Jan. 21, Smith is now ranked ninth in the conference in 3-point field goals per game, with 1.6.
In conference games, Gilbert leads Houston and ranks 24th in The American at 10.3 points per game. She also pulls in 8.1 rebounds per game against American foes, ninth in the conference. Smith is dishing 4.3 assists per game in American action, third in the conference, and Amerson is listed third in conference games with 2.4 steals per game.
| THE HUGHEY DIFFERENCE |
New head coach Ronald Hughey earned his first American Athletic Conference victory on Jan. 3 with a 63-45 trouncing of SMU. The victory was the sixth of the season for Houston.
Last season, Houston did not earn their first American win until Feb. 9 against Cincinnati, and they didn't reach six total wins until the American Championship First Round victory over Memphis on March 7, in their 30th contest.
Statistically, the Cougars have seen marked improvements in scoring offense, scoring defense, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, assists, steals and blocks under Hughey.
| 2014-15 AWARDS TALLY |
Three Cougars have already earned spots on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll this season. Gilbert was the latest to receive the honor, on Jan. 19.
Palmer was honored on Nov. 24 after scoring a career-high 20 points in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Mariah Mitchell took home the award on Dec. 22 after scoring 15 points in the Nicholls State victory.
Mitchell and Amerson were both honored with spots on the Athletes in Action All-Tournament Team for their play at the event. Both players averaged 8.0 points per game at the tournament, leading the Cougars to a 2-1 record.
| HOME SWEET ROAD |
In the first season of the Hughey Era, the Cougars have repeatedly demonstrated their toughness by winning difficult games away from Hofheinz Pavilion. Through Jan. 23, Houston has already won five games away from their home court, including their first American win on Jan. 3 at SMU.
Houston won just three games away from home in 2013-14, another example of Hughey's influence.
Hughey's team opened the season with a 46-42 road victory over North Texas on Nov. 14 in Denton, and they overcame a raucous on-campus environment to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 68-66, on Nov. 21.
The Cougars also won two neutral site games at the Athletes in Action Classic in Lubbock. Houston took down UTSA, 56-53, on Dec. 19, and one day later they earned a 65-47 triumph over Nicholls State.
| #CHASING GREATNESS WITH THE COOGS |
Three student-athletes have signed to join the Houston program next season.
Chyanne Butler, a native of Costa Mesa, Calif., will transfer to Houston at the start of the spring 2015 semester and will play for the Cougars in 2015-16. The USC transfer averaged 17.0 points and 3.3 steals per game during her prep career. She was tabbed as the Class of 2014's 25th-ranked point guard by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
Sharayla Brown is a 6-3 post player out of Tulsa, Okla., and East Central HS. She averaged 12.0 points per game as East Central advanced to the championship game of the 2014 OSSAA Class 5A State Tournament.
Serithia "MoMo" Hawkins is a 5-10 guard from Moore, Okla., and Southmoore HS. She is ranked as the 69th-best Class of 2015 guard by ESPN Hoopgurlz, and she is a 3-star prospect. Led by Hawkins, Southmoore upset the top-ranked team in the state of Oklahoma, Edmond Santa Fe, on Tuesday evening.
| SERIES HISTORY vs. MEMPHIS |
The series between Memphis and Houston has been incredibly tight throughout the years, with the Tigers currently holding a 14-13 edge. Memphis won the first nine meetings between the programs, while Houston notched eight straight victories from 2004-11.
Houston won the last and perhaps most important meeting between the teams, a 73-67 American Tournament victory on March 7, 2014. Marche' Amerson set a career high with 24 points and Bianca Winslow scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. | Final Stats
The Coogs also defeated Memphis in the first round of the 2001 Conference USA Tournament, 80-74.
| SCOUTING THE TIGERS |
Memphis enters the game at 9-9 overall (3-4 American). Their last game was on Jan. 18, a 60-39 road loss to East Carolina. | Final Stats
The Tigers struggled offensively in their loss to ECU, committing 21 turnovers and shooting just 27.8 percent from the field.
Junior guard Ariel Hearn led the Tigers against East Carolina, with 16 points, and for the season she paces the club with 15.4 points per game, including 38 made 3-pointers.
Junior forward Brianna Wright is the squad's top rebounder, at 9.2 per game.
Memphis has been a tough club to beat at home, where they are 7-3 this season. The Tigers have won two of their three American home games, with wins over East Carolina (Jan. 4, 60-57 OT) and Cincinnati (Jan. 14, 41-38).
| QUICK HITS |
- Houston's last win at Memphis was on Feb. 1, 2008, a 70-54 victory.
- Palmer has scored in double-figures in four of her last five games, and is averaging 12.2 points per game over that stretch.
- Gilbert has matched a career high with 34 minutes of court time in each of the last two games.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston is back at home on Tuesday, Jan. 27 to host Tulane. It's "Los Coogs Night" at Hofheinz Pavilion, and tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm. The Hispanic Business Students Association will have a table set up in the concourse, and fans will be treated to a special halftime dance performance on the Hofheinz floor. Tickets are available for just $8. | TICKETS
| STAY CONNECTED |
Fans can receive daily information and in-game updates by following @UHCougarWBB on Twitter. Fans can also catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at facebook.com/UHCougarWBB .
| NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY |
The Cougars will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day when they host Memphis on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Houston will also hold their "Coogs for a Cure/Play 4 Kay" event on that night, raising money for breast cancer awareness.
Fans are encouraged to join the festivities and bring their group to be a part of the fun. For more information and to register your group, please contact Daniel Foster at dfoster3@Central.uh.edu or (713) 743-9453.
| STUDENTS - CHEER ON YOUR COUGARS |
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular season women's basketball home games with a valid student ID.
--UHCougars.com--
